Common money scams in Japan, and what they cost you

The single most common surprise on a Japanese bill is the otoshi, a small dish that arrives unordered at an izakaya and is charged per person. It is a seat fee in the shape of an appetizer, and it is a genuine custom rather than a tourist markup: the regular at the counter pays it too. Reckon on roughly 300 to 600 yen a head, about 2 to 4 dollars, occasionally up to 1,000 yen at a smarter place. A group of six can therefore see it six times, which is where the shock usually comes from.

The same idea turns up as a flat table charge at bars, often 500 to 1,000 yen per person and more at hotel or Ginza bars, and as a service charge of 10 to 15 percent at hotel restaurants. None of these is a tip, and none of them is a con, but they are frequently not on the menu. Asking what the charge is before you sit down is completely normal and costs nothing. Japan does not tip at all, which is why these charges exist in the first place, and the full picture is in the Japan tipping guide.

When a card terminal or ATM asks whether to charge you in US dollars or yen, always choose yen. Choosing dollars triggers dynamic currency conversion, a marked-up rate dressed up as a convenience, and it costs you a few percent on every transaction you accept it on. This is legal and it is everywhere, which is what makes it the most expensive habit on this page over a whole trip. The mechanics are in the Japan cash and cards guide.

Japan is still a cash country in a lot of small restaurants, shrines and rural taxis, so you will use ATMs. Many Japanese bank machines reject foreign cards outright, so use 7-Eleven (Seven Bank) or Japan Post ATMs, which do work. Skimming is rare in Japan compared with most of the world, but the FCDO does note card skimming and cloning when you pay for food or drink, so keep your card in sight and turn on transaction alerts before you fly.

In a handful of Tokyo nightlife blocks, a friendly, fluent English-speaking promoter (a kyakuhiki, or customer puller) offers a cheap all-you-can-drink deal at a bar just around the corner. Inside, charges you were not told about accumulate: table fees, weekend fees, drinks ordered by staff on your tab. In the mild version, a promised 3,500 yen night lands at 15,000, so the padding is typically tens of dollars, roughly 40 to 100. In the full bottakuri version the bill runs into the hundreds of dollars, and reported police cases have been far higher than that. Treat the high numbers as what can happen, not as the going rate.

Japanese police name the same four Tokyo districts every time: Kabukicho, Roppongi, Shibuya and Ikebukuro. The UK FCDO advice is a single sentence and it is the whole defense: do not follow street touts into bars. Street soliciting is itself illegal under local ordinance, with fines up to 500,000 yen, so a venue that recruits on the pavement is already breaking the law before you walk in. Choose the bar yourself, and if a bill still looks wrong, ask for it itemized, say clearly that you will call the police, and dial 110. That threat works in your favor, not theirs.

The version worth real care, because it is the one that can cost serious money, is drink spiking followed by card fraud. The FCDO describes victims waking with no memory of the night and finding large amounts billed to their cards, with losses reported from the hundreds into the thousands. The US State Department's own country reporting notes cases of Americans being taken to ATMs and made to withdraw cash after being unable to pay an inflated tab. This is concentrated in the same few nightlife blocks and almost never touches anyone who did not follow a stranger into a venue.

The habits are ordinary ones: do not accept drinks from strangers, do not leave a drink unattended, keep your card in sight when you pay, and turn on push alerts for card transactions so a bad charge wakes your phone rather than surfacing weeks later. Carrying a little cash for an unfamiliar bar and leaving the card in the hotel safe also caps the downside neatly.

Almost everything on this page costs you a few dollars and is not a scam at all, and the one expensive scenario is avoided by a decision you make on the pavement. The habits: choose yen, ask about the seat charge, pick your own bar rather than a tout's, and keep your card in sight. Everyday Japan does not need defending: taxis are tightly regulated and metered, trains are fixed-price, shop prices are the shop prices, and short-changing is close to unheard of. See the Japan taxis and apps guide for how transport actually prices.

Handled calmly, none of this should shape your trip, and for most visitors none of it will come up. For getting and spending money well while you are there, see the Japan cash and cards guide and the Japan cost guide.

Common questions

Quick answers.

More on Japan

The little money things nobody warns you about.

• Taxis in Japan, and the GO appJapanese taxis are spotless, honest and metered, with doors that open for you and no tipping ever. They are also pricey, so from the airport the train usually wins. Here is how it works.
• Do I need cash in Japan, or can I use cards?Short answer: bring some cash, but you will tap and swipe for most of a city trip. The catch is that most Japanese bank ATMs reject foreign cards. Here is where to get yen, when you truly need it, and how to pay for the rest.
• Bringing your dog or cat to Japan.Japan is one of the long-lead destinations. Two numbers decide everything: the lead time, which is 7 to 8 months because of a fixed 180-day wait you cannot shorten, and the all-in cost, which runs into the thousands. Miss the sequence and the clock resets. Here is the order, the official route, and what to budget.
• Tipping in JapanThe answer here is simple and genuinely freeing: do not tip. Japan has no tipping culture, nobody expects one, and leaving extra money can cause confusion rather than gratitude. A polite thank-you is all that is needed.
• Do US citizens need a visa for Japan?Short answer: no, for stays up to 90 days, and there is nothing to apply for. Japan is one of the easiest countries for Americans to enter. Here is what you actually need, what Visit Japan Web does, and the change that is coming but is not here yet.
• Staying connected in Japan.Japan is the rare country where you can stop thinking about coverage entirely, because it is excellent almost everywhere including at 200 miles an hour on a bullet train. That leaves one question, and it is purely about money.
• Do you need a Japan Rail Pass?For years the answer was a reflexive yes. Since the 2023 price jump it is usually no, and the honest test is arithmetic you can do in about a minute before you spend anything.
• What does getting sick in Japan cost a visitor?Japan is a country where the per-visit price is reasonable and the payment mechanics still catch people out. A resident covers about a third of the bill. You cover all of it, at the counter, before you go.